Ingredients for producing high explosives



Patented Nov. 19, 1946 INGREDIENTS FOR PRODUCING HIGH EXPLOSIVES MicheleBonotto, Princeton, N. J., assignor to Dorothy Di Frasso, Beverly Hills,Calif.

No Drawing. Application December 15, 1941, Serial No. 423,038

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in ingredients for producing highexplosives and high explosives made therewith.

One of the objects of this invention is to utilize as an ingredient ofan explosive a nitro-protein complex derived, provided by or obtained ineither separated or combined form, from a nitrated vegetable materialfrom which oil has been extracted and which is capable of being mixedwith explosives having inherent explosive characteristics or with anoxygen-carrying substance for the purpose of producing a high explosive.

Still another objective of my invention is to utilize as an ingredientof an explosive a nitroprotein complex obtained or derived from anitrated oil-bearing vegetable material from which oil has beenextracted and which has a high protein content.

Still another object of my invention is to utilize as an ingredient ofan explosive a nitro-protein complex derived from a nitrated oil-bearingvegetable material from which oil has been extracted and which has, inthe wet basis, a protein content of the order of thirty percent (30%) tosixty-five percent (65%).

Still another object of my invention is to utilize as an ingredient ofan explosive a nitro-protein complex procured from a nitrated vegetablematerial obtained from any one of an edible oil group of oil-bearingmaterials hereinafter more particularly defined and from which 011 hasbeen extracted.

Still another object of my invention is to utilize as an ingredient ofan explosive a nitro-protein complex embodied in nitrated oil-bearingseeds from which oil has been extracted and which has, inthe wet basis,a protein content of the order of thirty percent (30%) to sixty-fivepercent (65%).

Still another object of my invention is to utilize as an ingredient ofan explosive a nitro-protein complex derived or obtained from avegetable material composed of leguminous seeds from which oil has beenextracted, and in the preferred embodiment of my invention, I utilize assuch an ingredient the nitro-compounds derived from a vegetable materialcomposed of soybean meal from which oil has been extracted.

Still another object of my invention is to utilize as an ingredient ofan explosive the nitro-protein complex derived or obtained from avegetable material from which oil has been extracted by a process whichdoes not denaturate the protein.

Still another object of my invention is to utilize or employ as aningredient of an explosive a nitrated vegetable product obtained bythenitrationof the solid residual product of the commercial extraction ofoil from vegetable oil-bearing materials, and comprising a nitratedprotein-rich vegetable c0 osition resulting from the nitration of avegetable il-free and undenaturate proteinrich residual product.

Still another object of my invention is to utilize or employ in anexplosive the nitrated vegetable product resulting from the nitration ofthe solid residual product of the commercial solvent extraction of oilfrom oil-bearing materials, and comprising a nitrated protein-rich,substantially oil-free and substantially undenaturate composition.

Still another object of my invention is to utilize or employ in anexplosive the nitrated product resulting from the nitration of the solidresidual product of the commercial solvent extraction of oil fromoil-bearing materials, and comprising a substantially oil-free,undenaturate proteinrich product embodying or containing a nitratedprotein-complex of the order of thirty per cent (30%) to sixty per centof said product.

My invention is based upon the discovery that when an oil-bearingvegetable material or substance, such as hereinafter specified, fromwhich oil has been extracted is subjected to a conventional nitratingprocess, a nitro-compound of the constitutents of such substance isproduced, and this new product, of which nitro-protein complex is themain constituent, though not in itself an explosive, may be utilized tobecome a participant of a powerful explosive when mixed with anotherexplosive or with substances having explosive characteristics, and alsoon the discovery that the introduction of my said nitro-compounds or thenitro-protein constitutent thereof will increase the explosive energy orpower of the substances with which it is mixed.

In accordance with my invention, I take a suitable quantity of meal, andpreferably soybean meal, from which oil has been extracted, preferablyin accordance with patents heretofore issued to me for such oilextraction, in processes which do not substantially denaturate theprotein of such meal. This meal thus embodies a substantiallyundenaturate vegetable protein. The meal is preferably finely ground,and subjected to a conventional nitrating process, preferably byutilizing a nitrating mixture of forty percent (40%) sulphuric acid(concentrated) andsixty per cent (60%) nitric acid (concentrated),operating at low temperatures. I thus procure a material comprising amixture of nitro-compounds, the chemical character and the propor.

tion of which mixture will depend upon the chemical analysis of the mealsubjected to the nitrating process. When soybean meal, from which oilhas as aforesaid been extracted, is employed, I procure nitrated mealembodying approximately fifty-six percent (56%) to sixtytwo percent(62%) of a nitro-protein complex, twenty-six percent (26%) to eighteenpercent (18%) of nitro-carbohydrate and three percent (3%) to fourpercent (4%) of nitro-cellulose, wet basis.

Tests of this soybean meal embodying such nitro-compounds have shownthat it will with difficulty ignite upon contact with an open flame, andthat it will not burn but will merely char when heated in a suitabledish to a'high degree of heat, such as produced by a red, electricheating coil.

Cottonseed meal will, depending to some extent upon the analysis of themeal, produce a nitrocompound mixture comprising approximately forty-twopercent (42%) of a nitro-protein complex, twenty-seven percent (27%) ofnitro-carbohydrate and eleven percent (11%) of nitrocellulose, on a wetbasis.

Flaxseed meal will, depending to some extent upon the analysis of themeal, produce nitrocompounds approximately of forty-eight percent (48%)of a nitro-protein complex, thirty-two percent (32%) ofnitro-carbohydrate and seven percent (7%) nitro-fibre.

The above-specified meals ar three examples of what I shall hereinafterterm an edible-oil group of suitable meals. Other members of this groupare peanut meal, sesame-seed meal, mustard-seed meal, rape-seed meal andother oilbearing seeds, nuts'and germs from which oil is extracted foredible purposes, and which contain relatively high percentages ofproteins.

It will be understood that the higher the percentages of protein in theinitial meal, the higher the ratio of nitro-protein complex can beprocured in the nitrated meal, and I therefore preferably employ a rawmeal from which oil has been extracted and which has, in the wet basis,a protein content of the order of thirty percent to sixty-five percent(65%).

By dissolving the nitro-protein complex obtained by my invention in aWeak alkaline solution, and by precipitation with dilute acetic acid, itis possible to separate the above complex from the other nitro-compoundsexisting in my nitrated meal. But, in View of the fact that these othernitro-compounds may constitute ingredients of explosive mixtures, Ipreferably do not separat the same, but utilize all the nitro-compoundsexisting in the meal or produced by nitration as a final product whichwill serve as an ingredient of an explosive as above specified.

When, however, my Intro-protein complex hereinabove referred to isdissolved in, Weak alkali, the precipitate obtained with dilute aceticacid is of bright yellow color.

In some cases a nitro-protein complex may be required to create a newexplosive or for other uses, and in such cases my nitrated meal will befound to comprise the cheapest source of such a nitro-comp'lex.

I have found that when my nitrated meal is mixed in proper proportionsand by proper methods'with other explosives, such as explosives of thenitroglycerine class, nitrated-aromatic class, ammonium, sodium orpotassium-nitrates class, chlorates and perchlorates class, andnitro-cellulose class, a new explosive mixture is produced of increasedpower and with new and desirable explosive characteristics.

When my oil-extracted meal is subjected to the conventional nitrationprocess as hereinabove described, it is preferably subsequently washedwith Water to free the material from acid and is then dried to producethe ingredient-product hereinabove specified.

A basic product may be obtained by subjecting to ammonia vapors theabove washed product in dried and pulverized condition. This basicproduct is characterized by a bright orange color.

Analysis of my nitrated meal shows that nitration has increased thenitrogen content to approximately sixteen percent (16%) from an initialtwo and seven-tenths percent (2.7%).

It is my belief that in view of the above changes in thecharacteristics,a new chemical composition is produced, or that the chemical characterof the protein is changed.

It is my belief, also, that my nitrated meal-has a nitrogen contentwhich is higher than similar nitrated products of which I haveknowledge.

I hav found that my nitrated meal or nitrocompound has itself explosivecharacteristics when mixed in proper proportions with potassium chlorateor with ammonium or sodium nitrates, and this mixture may serve as anexplosive ingredient of various explosives of the classes hereinabovespecified.

My preferred method of mixing my neutral or basic nitrated meal with oneor more'of such ingredients as potassium chlorate, ammonium or sodiumnitrates or substances having similar characteristics is to mix theingredients together in the presence of water in order to obtainaplasticmass which may be dried into suitable shape or form for the use to whichit is to be applied. In this event the step of drying the washed productmay be omitted.

As a result of my experiments, I believe that the nitro-groupsintroduced by the nitration of m meal are in such molecular combinationas to fullfill the requirements for a typical explosive of the class oforganic nitrates; in fact, the decom-' position of my nitrate meal takesplace with the development of considerable heat.

In view of the fact that the nitrated product does not, after beingsubjected to the nitration as above specified, possess sufiicient oxygento .permit it to explode, a product is produced which is safe to shipand otherwise handle. 7

vIn View of the increased nitrogen content of my improved nitrated meal,the final ingredientproduct when mixed with various other explosives asabove specified provides a substanceby the use of which the nitrogencontent in the mixed explosive may be desirably increased.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A high-explosive ingredient consisting of the nitrated solid compoundresulting from the nitration of the substantially oil-free,substantially undenaturate solid product of the commercial solventextraction of oil from the edible-oil group of oil-bearing seeds.

2. A high explosive ingredient consisting of the nitro-protein complexconstituent of the nitrated compound resulting from the nitration of thesubstantially oil-free, substantially'undenaturate product of thecommercial solvent extraction of oil from oil bearing seeds, and theseparation of the nitrated proteins therefrom.

3. A high explosive ingredient consisting of the nitratedsolid compoundresulting from .the nitration of the substantially oil-free,substantially undenaturate solid product of the commercial solventextraction of oil from the edible-oil group of oil-bearing seeds, andcontaining protein-complex of the order of thirty per cent (30%) tosixty-five per cent (65%) of the entire product.

4. A high explosive ingredient consisting of the nitrated solid compoundresulting from the nitration of the substantially oil-free,substantially undenaturate solid product of the commercial solventextraction of oil from the edible-oil group of oil bearing seeds, andcontaining nitro protein complex of the order of fifty-six per cent(56%) to sixty-two per cent (62%) of the entire product and having thecharacteristic that it does not possess sufficient oxygen to cause saidnitrated compound to have inherent explosive qualities, is not ignitableupon heating to a high degree of heat produced by a red hot heater andis ignitable with difiiculty by contact with an open flame, but saidproduct when mixed with inherently-explosive, oxygen-containing materialis explodable by conventional methods, and when so exploded,decomposition of the entire mixture takes place and is accompanied withthe development of considerable heat.

5. The process of nitrating the substantially oil-free and undenaturatesolid residual product of the commercial solvent extraction of oil fromoil-bearing seeds, comprising the preparing and rinding of said residualproduct in finely-ground condition, and nitration of said finely-groundproduct 'with a nitrating acid at aloW temperature.

MICHELE BONOTTO.

